Maintaining Organization
by Melby7777
Summary: After Kakuzu had scared yet another one of his partners into hiding, Pein brings in a new recruit—who happens to be a sixteen-year-old, fowl mouthed, high school delinquent.
1. Chapter 1

**Maintaining Organization  
author:**Melby7777**  
Summary:** After Kakuzu had scared yet another one of his partners into hiding, Pein brings in a new recruit—who happens to be a sixteen-year-old, fowl mouthed, high school delinquent. Hidan becoming his partner is a "meant to be" sort of thing, considering the kid can't die and is too cocky to be scared of anything. Their partnership starts off with a mutual hate for one another, bringing down Pein and Konan's hope that their organization members could ever get along with one another. Though their hope may be revived, with the way the artists' certain tensions are rising and the shark becomes romantically attached to the ever emotionless weasel; meanwhile the hyperactive good boy constantly tries to help the two toned mental case out of solitude. Perhaps there is a possibility that even Hidan and Kakuzu can, eventually, get along.**  
Disclaimer:** Akatsuki is owned by Masashi Kishimoto**  
Note:** Thought up while rereading xotakux2002x's work the other day. By the way, it all takes place in a fictional continent/country place or something in modern times. But there are still ninjas and stuff or whatever.

* * *

Amegakure was always clouded over in rain. Beside this little fact, the city was well-organized and home to big businesses, though it was nothing in comparison to Konohagakure. In fact, the great majority of the cities in the country were fairly large, putting most of the Northern American's cities to shame —though this is all irrelevant.

The important thing was that all the cities had something greatly in common; they were once large contributors to ninja academies and running jobs for the ninjas that lived within the limits of their cities. However, over the years and transitions of technology, people became less interested in the ways of the ninja and the great majority of the population was quickly turning into civilians rather than ninjas. It wouldn't have been too much of a problem, though some clans decided to keep to the chakra training and even some of those people decided to use their abilities to best the civilians and cheat them out of a lot of things.

That was the exact problem—with the country all focusing more of the natural life of being a normal civilian, ninjas became forgotten. They were truly in the shadows now, and acting out was becoming a very large problem. Keeping ninjas a mere secret was growing harder and harder, and civilians weren't safe.

Every cities problem didn't stop there. A new development of crime came in the form of a group whose symbol was that of a red cloud, their organization going by the name of "Akatsuki".

The Akatsuki were simply ninjas who were good at what they did. They went out, killed certain people for no apparent reason, and disappeared without a trace. The people without knowledge of ninjas went through their day thinking some gang member would come out and shoot them, when really the Akatsuki would do something much worse.

And that was the exact way Nagato Kantsuu wanted it.

Nagato's best friend had always wanted to start a criminal organization of ninjas, but Yahiko had died very young and without having completed his goal. So Nagato, by his dying friend's request, created the Akatsuki.

The purpose of Akatsuki was simply to go out and put an end to those ninjas who thought it was fine to do ninja tricks in broad daylight, to the view of many civilians who knew nothing of a ninja. However, killing people wasn't exactly going to slide well with the country officials, so it would only have to be a select few to be a part of Akatsuki and keep their affiliation with the organization a secret to everyone else.

The creation of the organization wasn't as simple as most would have believed.

Nagato was prepared to head out into the neighboring cities to search out members to join him. Of course, his girlfriend Konan Ronbun was all for being as much a part of it as he was. She too had been a friend of Yahiko, so when she'd found out of Nagato's choice to start Akatsuki, she'd offered her two cents.

Her ideas were for there to be only ten people—her and Nagato included in that number. Every person would have a partner to keep the other in check and someone to work with so as to not be alone in their missions of killing. Konan had also given Nagato her own ideas of who should join based on news of the ninja world getting around to her on infamous and dangerous ninjas.

Under the alias of Pein, Nagato was able to travel into Konohagakure and to the mental hospital where he'd be able to find an old friend of his. Zetsu Koujou—whose original home was unknown to even the two toned male—was placed into the home, with hopes from the doctors and nurses that they could cure his schizophrenia. Pein felt that placing him there would only make him withdraw into himself even further, the split personality growing even worse within the hospital. To his surprise, Zetsu had actually gotten a bit better, learning to talk to others rather than the voices of his mind. However, Zetsu's split personality had grown to the point that his entire body had become literally two toned—though that could have been his chakra reacting strangely to the development of two different minds.

In any case, not only had Pein gained Zetsu as a member, but also one of the volunteers at the mental hospital. The man had worn a mask however, constantly referred to himself as Tobi, and said he was a "good boy". Pein hadn't wanted to let Tobi join, but Tobi had also stated that it'd be better for Zetsu if someone who knew how to handle his mental illness were to partner with him—that and Zetsu couldn't leave the hospital without a doctor, nurse, or volunteer. Pein couldn't deny that it was very logical.

So, with two newly added members, Pein traveled again to another city for a wider search. His search brought him to Takigakure, where he spent weeks looking for someone that seemed to have open chakras and knew how to use them.

Eventually his looking brought to him a tall, intimidating and scarred man by the name of Kakuzu Kinsen. Kakuzu, who constantly referred to Pein as though he were a child, was definitely a strong ninja in his own right. Kinsen, however, didn't want anything to do with a criminal organization, until Pein mentioned bounties.

Apparently, Kakuzu was as greedy as Zetsu was schizophrenic. This brought Kakuzu into the Akatsuki, though it seemed impossible to get him to agree to take a partner. Pein finally settled on just talking with Kakuzu about it later, saying he'd keep in touch for assignments later on, and eventually set out for another city.

Sunagakure was in the middle of the desert despite it being so close to its fellow cities, but it was the only place he could hope to find the puppet master Konan had mentioned.

It didn't take too long to find Sasori Akasuna, who was attending an art school within the desert city. Sasori was a strange boy, being only nineteen and possessing skin that looked too smooth to be real—which Pein later realized was because it wasn't all entirely skin, but rather wood. Apparently, the redhead had been in the accident that killed his parents and it resulted in most of his body parts to be replaced with fake ones; Sasori himself had taken liberty to making himself a partial puppet.

Sasori was immediately interested in Akatsuki, saying it would bring a bit of excitement and a good usage to his puppets. Agreeing to join the group, Sasori had asked to have someone with artistic value to be his partner after Pein explained a bit of things. Pein saw nothing wrong with it and promised to find a ninja with a view of art.

Moving onwards with the knowledge of only four more members to find, Pein had went onward to look for the supposed Monster of Kirigakure—Kisame Hoshigaki, who was a powerful ninja with a huge supply of chakra and owner to a sword that didn't cut, but sawed with its shark skin. Samehada was what they called the sword.

Finding Kisame was in itself simple yet hard. Pein wasn't entirely sure why he'd been dubbed "Monster of Kirigakure", but upon meeting the six and a half foot tall, blue skinned, shark looking man, Pein realized just what he was dealing with. Kisame, however intimidating he looked, was actually quite pleasant and agreed to join Akatsuki. He even offered an idea for a member choice, to whom Pein hadn't even heard of; Itachi Uchiha.

Apparently, the Uchiha had killed some members of his clan and was now on the run from the police of his home town of Konohagakure, and was becoming quite the talk amongst ninjas—even civilians knew his name. Pein decided to go look for the weasel, telling Kisame he'd be partners with him if Itachi joined since he was the one to suggest the Uchiha. Like Kakuzu, Kisame didn't seem to like the idea of a partner, but grudgingly went with it and bid Pein fair well.

Luckily for Pein, the condemned Uchiha was very close to Kirigakure and was able to locate him faster than he'd anticipated. Itachi, who was hiding out in the thick forest of trees, had actually ambushed Pein with the belief he was a part of the police looking for him. It took a while to explain to Itachi that he wasn't trying to find him to put under arrest, but rather to ask for his cooperation. Itachi, the ever elusive character even when he'd been convinced that Pein wasn't there to harm him, immediately inquired of what the ginger could want from him.

Just as quickly as he'd asked what Pein wanted, Itachi agreed. Though Pein wasn't too sure on why the Uchiha agreed so easily, he could never know the real reason. All Itachi had said was… well, it was more of a grunt than anything really. He'd also agreed to meeting with Kisame a little too easily, saying he'd take residence in Kirigakure to better situate and possibly gain a good cover story as to why he and Kisame would even been seen together.

Pein may have found this to be a little fishy, but he let it all go and was simply glad he only had two more to find—someone for Kakuzu, and someone with a view of art for Sasori.

Along his travels, Pein began to hear word of someone causing havoc in Iwagakure, and the nature of his havoc being explosives. Interested, Pein went to the city in hopes to find this supposed terrorist.

This of course was the right action to take, as an explosion in the midst of the city came almost the minute he stepped foot into the rock city. Immediately, the hint of chakra permeated the air and Pein was off to find its source.

He finally came across an effeminate male shouting to the heavens that art was a bang. The instant he heard the word "art" told Pein that this blond ninja was just the type Sasori asked for. However, the blond had run off at the sound of sirens and seemed near impossible to keep up with. It took two whole days, but Pein finally cornered the boy.

As it turned out, the boy—Deidara Iwa was his name—wasn't a terrorist. He simply wanted to show his art in its true form. Of course, Pein had never heard of _anyone_ who honestly believed that art was merely a brief beauty, but he didn't pass a judgment of character. Deidara was obviously a skilled ninja, though a bit young if anything. He, like Sasori, was also in an art school for sculpture and design. He, unlike Sasori, didn't want to savor his artwork however, and tended to destroy them upon showing them to his instructors.

Though they respected Deidara's view of art, having a smashed clay bird wasn't exactly going to get him to pass. Deidara mentioned to Pein he didn't like it, but he'd let some of the creations he did survive and turn them in to his teachers. Pein didn't really care, but it was best to listen to Deidara before he asked him to join.

Deidara had actually leapt for joy at the idea. Apparently, he was an orphan and never really got to travel much. Nevertheless, seeing as the Akatsuki's requirements would deal with a lot of traveling, and Sasori happened to live half way across the continent, Deidara would finally get his chance for travels.

So, with the thought of only one member left, Pein bid the blond fair well, the pierced male left Iwagakure and took off to find the final member.

The only problem came in the form of who the final member's partner would be—Kakuzu _really, truly_ did not want a partner, and he made sure Pein knew that. In whatever way he deemed necessary.

* * *

"Akatsuki has been at large for only half a year so far, and October is very well near over, Kakuzu. I assume you know this?" Pein inquires, looking over the top of the manila folder that held all of the stitched man's information.

Kakuzu simply shrugs and continues to glare. "I told you, the last one ran away and I can't find him."

"Yes, you did say that. However, you didn't say _why_ your partner went into hiding." His patience was wearing thin. "Look, Kakuzu; I know you don't want a partner, but that was the _twentieth_ time you lost a partner—and it was only the third one to get away from you _alive_!"

Kinsen scoffs under his breath. "It was the twenty-first time I lost a partner, and it's not my problem you keep finding me _inadequate_ partners, Sir Leader."

Pein wanted to punch whoever in the organization decided he must be called that—he didn't make up an alias for himself just to be called 'Sir Leader'! "Kakuzu, you will have to endure my choices; all of them have been perfectly fine. Why do you have to kill them?"

"They wear on my patience." Kakuzu leans back in the seat across from Pein's desk, bored out of his mind. "Can I just _not_ have a partner?"

With a shake of his head, Pein took to reading the banker's profile again. "I'll be looking for a new one during the next week. If and _only_ if I don't find anyone, you'll get to continue on without a partner."

Kakuzu nods, standing from the seat before giving a small bow of respect. "That's all I ask." Kinsen turns to the door, opening it swiftly before letting it close behind him.

Pein watches for a moment, sighing when Kakuzu's footsteps die away. "That man has serious people problems…"


	2. Chapter 2

Kakuzu sighs, putting aside the files in which his secretary had brought in. He really disliked having to read everything about the clients of his company, but it was necessary in the record business. He couldn't have idiots who'd ruin their image—and therefore his entire company—recording here. Though Kakuzu generally didn't really pay attention to anything but whether these people were good or not.

He just wanted the money they'd rake in.

Of course, Kakuzu's real intentions in life were the bounties he'd be able to collect working for… _that_ man. He never really thought about the organization while at his—or what he considered to be—secondary job of running a recording company. It wasn't too hard, his secretary whose name he never remembered was the one who ran it all really. He just paid her to pretend it was all his doing and she was representing him.

Or at least she claimed that's what her job was.

No, Kakuzu's focus remained on the Akatsuki and its underground workings. Kakuzu was typically sent with his partner to collect bounties that Pein found suitable to kill because they were open on the ninja deal.

People these days were so stupid. The only way to be a real ninja in their eyes was someone sneaking around and dressed all in black. That was from all the old plays held, where the people who'd create the effects in the background would wear the uniform to blend with the black backdrop. There had been one play that involved a ninja, and one of those black-dressed effect creators was the one going around killing everyone. That was what had caused people to believe ninjas were those who dressed like such and were in the shadows.

What they didn't realize was that ninjas were hired to _blend_ with everything, and therefore were dressed just as any normal person would. They were stealthy, but dressing from head to toe in _black_ didn't make you unnoticeable. It just made everyone look right at you.

Ridiculous, every single one of these civilians; they always seemed to think that the ninjas performing their ninjutsu on the street were doing _magic_ and some other stupid things. Honestly, they were complete morons. Stupid civilians, watching something that could potentially injure them like it was a street performer…

Kakuzu was a bit grateful that Pein had found him. He just wished that the leader of this organization would _stop_ pushing idiots on him to be his partner. Pein could do better than everyone one of those pansies.

Thinking on it and completely neglecting his work—as usual, but it still didn't really matter—Kakuzu wasn't prepared for the voice of his secretary to suddenly burst from the intercom sitting atop his desk, startling him from the thoughts of his double life.

"Mr. Kinsen, there is a… uh… _young man_ here to see you…" She says a bit uncertainly, her voice wavering from disgust, confusion and complete amusement all at once.

Kakuzu raises a brow to her words, glancing over to the calendar beside the intercom. "I don't have an appointment with anyone…"

The secretary—what _was_ her name?—clears her throat to attempt at making her voice clearer. It still sounded uncertain. "He ah… says a—er—a 'pain in the _ass_' leader of his told him he'd need to meet with you…?"

How convenient that Kakuzu was just thinking of a man named Pein; it didn't take long for him to realize just what this young man was saying that she didn't get. "Send him in…" It was also fairly bad that said "pain in the ass" couldn't relay to this man that they were not to meet unless both of them knew of this meeting.

It was uncalled for to have a meeting with someone outside the organization's business. Coming here so unannounced meant that Pein had found another idiot.

That was the moment his door slammed open, banging against the door and probably leaving a whole bedded into the drywall. Great, he'd have to pay for that…

However, all thoughts of lost money went down the drain once Kakuzu laid eyes on the idiot who would be his partner until he scared him off… or killed him, whichever came first.

"What the fuck are _you_ staring at, old man?" The teenager—freaking _teenager_—scoffs at him, moving to push the door closed so they'd have a little more privacy.

Kakuzu just continued to stare.

This boy—he had to be only twelve! Pein could _not_ be serious about this. The silver hair on his head was slicked back, giving a clear view to the blatantly pale face, straight jawline and the bright amethyst eyes that bore into Kakuzu's own. Confidence leaked from this young male's entire being it seemed, the same pale skin tracing down his body, giving Kakuzu reason to look over his torso as the red jacket on his back was left open. A charm hung low down and around his neck, resting just above the finely muscled abs for someone so young, his pants hanging loosely on his thin hip bones. Despite being well toned in muscle, the boy was lacking in fat—he seemed extremely skinny with his pants hanging like that. His boxers were showing—what was wrong with this generation of children? It didn't look cool, it was stupid—and a chain hung from the belt that should have held the baggy jeans up. The final icing on the cake of this teenage boy—overly larger, sleek black combat boots.

Pein had not only sent a teenager to work with Kakuzu, he'd sent a rebellious one.

"I _said_, what the _fuck_ are you staring at, _old man_?" He says again, the sound already grating on Kakuzu's nerves. His voice was booming with arrogance and had a bit of a scratching tone to it all.

This kid would live in Kakuzu's presence for all of an hour if this continued on. "How _old_ are you? Twelve?" Kakuzu bit back, his eyes narrowing.

He clicks his tongue in an angry fashion, moving to sit in the chair across from Kakuzu's desk, his boots and chains clinking with every step. Without a word, the boy flings his heavy boots onto the desk as he throws himself into the chair, a cocky smirk on his face when the papers Kakuzu'd been reading are thrown to the floor. A vein begins to throb in the miser's temple then.

Five minutes, tops.

"I'm fucking sixteen, moron." He spits out, clicking his jaw as though he were chewing on something. The age didn't affect Kakuzu too much anyway—he was still young. "And that Pein-in-the-ass said I needed to meet you, so I said "shit, I'll find this damn cock-zoo"." He barks a laugh then, finding the play on both Kakuzu's and sir leader's names to be funny. The temple was pulsating now. "I'm Hidan Sendo."

"I don't care." Kakuzu simply states, turning slowly to pick up the papers the kid scattered.

Hidan only grounds out another scoff. "Like I give a damn if you care, cock." He takes to scanning the room a bit with his eyes, the bright orbs going dull to his sudden wall of boredom. "Whelp, if you don't want to fucking know me—"

"You'll be dead in the next few minutes if you don't leave." Kakuzu scowls, tapping the edges of his work on the desk to straighten out the stack.

"Oh please, like anything could kill me." He was too confident—just like anyone who believed they were invincible.

As much as Kakuzu would love to tear the annoyance limb from limb, he couldn't afford to smear his office in blood. The janitors would question why it was there and then he'd have the police…

No, he'd have to settle on a murder with a smaller cleanup. Allowing the stitching in his right arm to come undone, Kakuzu merely lifts the appendage and lets the wires of his inner workings release his forearm, his hand shooting forward and the fingers immediately wrapping around the albino's neck.

Hidan lets out a gurgled laugh when Kakuzu tightens the hold, making the elder male scowl. What made him think this was funny? The teen attempts to say something, only to have his voice scratch on the lack of breath he could just barely gain around the clamp on his throat. Loosening his fingers just a bit, Kakuzu growls out a simple inquiry to what Hidan was trying to say before.

"I… can't… die, cock-zoo." He was smirking around the ragged breaths that he was suddenly allowed, the gleaming white of his teeth shining in the dim mid-afternoon light.

Kakuzu only scoffs. "Impossible, everyone can die…"

Hidan shakes his head, bringing up a pale hand to try and pull Kakuzu's own from his throat. "I can't, dumbass… just stop choking me—it won't get you anywhere."

Glaring directly into the violet orbs of this teenager, Kakuzu takes a moment to consider his words. Killing Hidan would be bad for now; he'll have to wait for another chance. Perhaps their first mission would be the best start.

"Leave; sir leader will contact you when we need to meet again and give you details. _Never_ approach me outside of the Akatsuki's work."

Groaning in annoyance—and obviously only acting out—Hidan hefts himself to his feet, the combat boots rattling the floor with their heaviness. "I got to take a fucking bus; think you can loan me a buck?"

Christmas coloured eyes narrowed in response to the question. "Get out."

Hidan clicks his tongue, just as he had when he'd first walked in. "Fine, screw you tight wad… see you around, cock." With a satisfied grin on his thin lips, the albino swiftly crosses the room, his chain clinking and boots crashing all the same until the door was thrown shut behind him.

As soon as the door was shut and the clinking of his annoying movement died down the hall, Kakuzu grabs for the receiver of his phone, punching in a number he knew all too well. The sound of the line connecting buzzed in his ear, aggravating him to the point that the vein would burst at any moment.

Finally, the other end of the call answered. "Hello, this is Konan Ronbun, tattoo artist of—"

"It's Kakuzu, I need to speak to leader." He scowls, keeping his glare trained on the door Hidan had attempted to destroy—or he assumed he attempted to destroy it, considering how he threw the thing around like it couldn't break.

The woman on the other end gave a light sigh. "Pein is busy piercing an employee; what do you need?"

His frown only deepened to her words. "Damn it Konan, he got another idiot as my partner."

Konan was silent for a moment before her tittering laughter came through the phone. "Hidan is a handful, but Pein found him and realized he was perfect for you."

"So sticking me with an idiot is a _good_ thing?"

"Look at it this way; you can't expect your partner to be replaced because he _died_ this time." Without so much as clarifying what she meant, Konan hung up on the confused miser.


	3. Chapter 3

Kisame walks into his home, sighing heavily. Working all day in the office really wasn't his ideal of a fun job, but it would have to do.

Besides, how many people could actually say that they were a part of the murderous organization, Akatsuki? Especially since he was an accountant, something so boring it was definitely impossible to say they were in that group.

He could of course say he was and not be lying, but no one would believe him. An accountant being a murderer; not likely. Aside from his "monstrous" appearance, Kisame was already one the many considered to be "unlikely" for the position.

Falling back in a heap onto his couch, Kisame let a heaving sigh escape his lips. He was sure he'd die if all he had in his life was this boring old job. Luckily for him, Pein found him and asked to join, thus having given him the fun that anyone would be craving after being locked in an office building all day.

"How was work…?" A calm, nearly indifferent voice asks from the bar separating the living room from the kitchen, alerting the blue-toned man he wasn't alone.

Craning his neck back, Kisame gets his first look at the intruder—upside-down. Itachi Uchiha stares back just as blankly, his leveled gaze unblinking and jaw moving slightly while he continued to munch on the sandwich he held.

"Eh, boring as always…" Kisame finally answers, flipping over to sit upright and look at his partner properly. "How was breaking into my house today?"

Itachi gives a shrug. "Simpler than yesterday, since I already had the alarms cut off."

Kisame's jaw tightens from the response. "Itachi, do you want a key or something? You really don't need to keep breaking in like this…"

"If I had a key, people would begin to talk." The Uchiha responds, finishing off the sandwich and standing, collecting his dish to clean in the sink.

Watching him, Kisame gives a huff of annoyance. "Then I would like you to stop breaking into my house. Besides, don't you have work?"

"Hn…"

Of course, he wasn't really expecting an answer.

Itachi Uchiha had become his partner in the Akatsuki very quickly it seemed. Kisame had been the one to tell Pein about the younger man, and was informed that if Itachi joined their ranks that they'd be partners. It was the day after Pein left to continue looking for new members that Kisame had found his house broken into and the Uchiha in question waiting for him.

That was around the start of April though, and since then Kisame had come home from the accountant's building in Kirigakure to find Itachi eating his food. The other man never told him where he worked or where he lived, but Kisame figured it was somewhere within Kirigakure. Of course, he knew simple things, like Itachi was a police detective.

Six months of working alongside the Uchiha and meeting him at home brought Kisame to the point of learning more about Itachi than he thought he would. Compared to the other partnerships in Akatsuki, Kisame and Itachi were on better terms than any of them (excluding Sir Leader and Konan, seeing as they were engaged). However, just because they were on good terms didn't mean Itachi told Kisame everything.

Or anything, for that matter. In fact, the most Itachi spoke of was their missions, questioning Kisame on his life, and a grunt when questions were asked in return. Sure, the weasel would answer to small things, like when he'd responded to Kisame's inquire to whether it was easy to break into his house that day.

Some things were just left unanswered though, and that was why Kisame found himself not knowing a single thing about the indifferent man in his home.

"Sir Leader called earlier…" Itachi muses aloud, having finished cleaning the dish he'd dirtied and joined his partner on the couch.

Kisame hums in response, watching the smaller male flip through channels on the television. "What did he want…?"

"Kinsen has gotten another new partner." Itachi replies, taking a second to glance at the shark-like man. "We'll get to meet him if he lasts through one mission with Kinsen."

They both become silent at this, the only sounds with the house coming from the TV, the channels still being changed by the Uchiha. Kisame watches the changing images before scoffing lightly. "I don't think we'll be meet him."

"We have only met three of Kinsen's partners…" Itachi murmurs, his dull eyes still on the television as well, not really watching what was shown. "Sir Leader also said we'll have a mission to go on this weekend…"

Kisame nods in acknowledgment before he realized Itachi probably didn't see it. "Good to know ahead of time, I suppose."

Itachi grunts his simple "hn" once more, continuing to flip through channels. "Is there anything you might like to watch, Hoshigaki?"

"Not really…" Kisame mutters, letting his body sink a little into the cushions of the couch.

He'd offered to Itachi for the other to call him by his name, but the Uchiha still continued calling him by his surname. Kisame wasn't too sure why that was, seeing as Itachi had _requested_ for him to call him by his name. And by requested, Kisame meant _threatened_. Apparently, Itachi would prefer his given to his surname at the moment.

In any case, once Itachi "requested" this, Kisame assumed Itachi should call him by his given name as well. Yet the Uchiha declined and continued referring to Kisame as Hoshigaki. It wasn't exactly like it really mattered, but when you saw someone every day and felt that the two of you got along, wouldn't it be natural to call one another by your first name?

Really though, Kisame didn't entirely mind. It was Itachi's decision, Kisame couldn't change that. And he most certainly wasn't going to get on his partner's bad side. He knew what would happen if Itachi actually did kill him; Sir Leader would cover it up to society and just get a new member for Itachi to partner with—he'd seen it enough times with Kakuzu. Not a care from anyone, and Kisame wasn't sure if he liked that.

Itachi finally turned the television off, having found nothing to watch. The sudden silence ringing in the room alerted Kisame back to the matter at hand. Looking over to his partner in crime, Kisame takes notice to the fact that Itachi was staring back at him.

"… Are you going home then?" Kisame asks, unsure if there is really anything to say to the weasel.

A shake of the head is Kisame's answer, making the shark sigh. He really didn't like being alone in silence with Itachi sometimes, seeing as the Uchiha never made an effort to do anything.

"Is there something wrong, Hoshigaki?"

Nearly jumping out of his skin, Kisame turns back to his house guest. "No, why…?"

Itachi shrugs, glancing out the windows to the streets of Kirigakure. "It's not really like you to be so silent…"

Kisame continues to stare at Itachi in confusion, his words shifting about inside his head. "I just… don't have much to say today…"

He didn't know what Itachi was talking about. Normally, Kisame just told him news of things he'd heard that day or information Itachi questioned about. He didn't think he talked _all_ the time, so really, Itachi wasn't making too much sense.

"Hn…" Kisame wanted to groan; Itachi's constant hn-ing tended to piss Kisame off. "What are you thinking about then?"

This caught Kisame off guard. Yes, Itachi questioned about Kisame's day and life in general, but he'd never really asked what the shark was thinking about.

"Nothing really; just about the Akatsuki I guess…" Kisame mutters, moving to pick at lint he'd spotted on the cushions.

Itachi turns back to him at this, his eyes scanning Kisame's face. The determined look of it all made him feel a bit nervous under the Uchiha's gaze, making him shift about in his seat. "What about the Akatsuki…?"

Kisame gives a half shrug, the nerves growing under Itachi's scrutinizing gaze. Really, no matter how much a size difference was between the two, Kisame was afraid of this little man. "I don't know—"

"How can you not know what you're thinking about?" Itachi inquires all too quickly, his eyes narrowing.

Determined not to return the gaze and see the red orbs that were no doubt in place of the black, Kisame watches his hand picking at the lint that wasn't really there anymore. "Just about the partnerships and everyone I guess…"

Itachi takes a moment to think over his answer, watching Kisame under his intense stare. "Who exactly were you thinking about?"

Kisame turns back hesitantly, finding the crimson colour to be the usual onyx. "Well, mostly Kakuzu and his constant need for a new partner…"

"Why think about Kinsen?"

"You did mention him…"

"Hn…" Itachi finally looks back to the window, his face returning to indifference.

Kisame shifts again. "Well, I was also thinking about us." Itachi doesn't glance back. "And the last six months; it's weird that we're nicer to each other than all the other partnerships."

"Excluding Sir Leader and Konan, you mean." Itachi corrects, still staring out the window.

Nodding a little, Kisame turns his eyes back to the lint-less spot he was picking at. "Yeah, of course… why do you think that is? That we're nice to each other, I mean."

Itachi doesn't answer right away, merely standing from his seat and heading to the door. "I think it might be because we have some level of understanding for one another…" He leaves directly after that, and Kisame didn't even want to think about where he might be going.

He didn't mention it, but it was probably because Itachi didn't know. Of course he didn't, since Itachi knew just about everything involving Kisame but the fact that he loved his partner.


	4. Chapter 4

The sounds of explosions were still ringing in his ears, making Deidara smile despite himself. The mission hadn't called for him to use his own art, but that damn Akasuna…

Sometimes, Deidara really hated that redhead. Sasori acted as though he were the better man, the better ninja, that Deidara was nothing but a child next to him. He _hated_ it! Sasori was only a year and some odd months older, why did he have to pretend Deidara was too young?

He wanted to wring that high-and-mighty puppeteer around the neck so badly. Especially after today's mission; Sasori had told Deidara—actually, it was more of _ordered_ him—to stay back and let him handle it. The stupid Sunagakure born had underestimated the enemy however and needed back-up—which, Deidara would like to add, he never called for it! Deidara saw the situation and acted accordingly.

Nearly blowing up Sasori had just been a plus to it all.

Of course, it was an _accident_ that he'd almost killed his partner, and he had told Sasori as much. Sasori though was not listening to his claims and said he'd be reporting Deidara's "treason" to Sir Leader.

Deidara almost chuckled under his breath; leave it to that damned Uchiha to come up with that nickname everyone now used. It was pretty funny to see Pein's reaction every time someone said it instead of his own stupid alias.

Back to what had happened though—Deidara groans and looks to his angry partner walking a few paces ahead of him. "Oh come on, Sasori-danna! I said I was sorry, un!"

"You're only upset because you know Sir Leader will lecture you about acting like Kinsen, brat," Sasori retorts snappily. Deidara winces; being compared to Kakuzu on how you treat your partner—ouch. "I don't see why you can't just admit that you were trying to kill me…"

Deidara gulps a little, biting at his lip. It was the last thing he wanted to do; admit that Sasori was right and he was wrong. But, if it stopped him from telling… "Will you tell Sir Leader if I say you're right and I was trying to kill you, hm?"

Sasori pauses, turning to stare back at Deidara with those blank eyes—they were so strange and beautiful to look at sometimes. He often times wondered just what Sasori might be thinking but could never figure it out, those brown orbs always kept him side tracked. "Perhaps I won't, if you say you were out of line back there."

Straightening, Deidara nods his head. "I, Deidara Iwa, was upset with you during that fight and thought I could finish you off with the enemy, un. You were right, I was trying to kill you."

The Akasuna stares blankly at his partner, his eyebrow twitching from Deidara's statement. "Why were you upset with me?"

"You always call me a brat, hm. I'm not a brat."

Sasori groans and shakes his head. "Don't let your emotions get the better of you next time." He turns to continue down the path.

Deidara hesitates before he follows after. "Does this mean you won't tell Sir Leader then?"

"I won't say anything…" Sasori sighs from his own words. Grinning, the bomber lets his euphoria at his partner's promise fill him up. "I'm curious though, why do you let my name calling get the better of you in battle?"

Huffing, Deidara glances down at his shorter companion. "I don't like being called a brat, un. I'm not a brat, so stop calling me one."

Sasori scoffs, sending a glare to the blond. "How do you know you're not a brat, _brat_? You act as though everything should be handed to you on a silver platter, so obviously you're spoiled. Spoiled children are easily brats."

"I was never spoiled!" Deidara yells, narrowing his own gaze to match Sasori's. "I'm not a brat and I'm not spoiled, hm! You're the only person who seems to think this!"

"So does that mean everyone you know is blind to who you really are?" Sasori challenges, stopping to better glare at Deidara.

Deidara stops as well, turning fully toward the redhead. "No, because it seems you're the only _idiot_ I know!"

"I never said they were stupid, I just said they don't know the real you." Sasori mutters, rolling his eyes as though he thought Deidara were the real idiot here.

"Oh, and you do?" The blond retorts, glaring heatedly at his partner. "You don't know me, Sasori-danna; you just think you do because you think you know everything, un!"

Sasori sighs and shakes his head. "You're hopeless…" He turns away, ignoring Deidara's string of curses that follow after him. "Hurry up brat, I don't want to keep Sir Leader waiting and Amegakure is still two hours away."

Groaning, Deidara begins to follow grudgingly, letting his retorts die. "Why can't we take a bus or get a cab…?" He whines, glaring at the road as though it were at fault here.

"Because Kinsen manages our money and won't let us waste money on transportation if it's not required of us." Sasori replies, rolling his eyes once more from his partner's childish whining. "And before you ask, we can't take your silly clay bird either or we'll risk exposure to our kind."

Deidara scowls, glaring at the redhead's back. "I know that, un…"

"Do you…?" Sasori replies, his voice hushed but still loud enough for the blond to hear.

Huffing again, Deidara crosses his arms and keeps from retorting back with a nasty comment. He didn't need to get riled up again; for all he knew, Sasori could turn around and take back his promise of not telling Pein about what Deidara had done.

Still, deep down Deidara had a feeling Sasori wasn't ever actually going to say anything to Sir Leader. It was strange how the redhead acted most of the time; he'd threaten Deidara multiple times and never once went through with it. Sometimes Deidara actually believed Sasori would hurt him or allow him to be killed by the enemy, but not once has he let any of that happen.

In fact, it almost seemed that Sasori was making empty promises whenever he said he'd let something bad come to Deidara. The only promises he kept were ones that benefited the blond.

Deidara hums at this, watching the redhead before him as though he'd make some movement that would tell him what it all meant. It was strange to him; Deidara had never really known anyone to be weird in the sense Sasori was to him.

His stomach growls then, letting the bomber know that his skipping out on breakfast was not such a great idea anymore. Deidara kept this to himself however; asking Sasori to stop for food right now wouldn't be very—

"Are you hungry, Deidara? There's a tea shop up ahead…" Sasori's bored drawl breaks Deidara's thoughts then, surprising the blond. He glances back, seeing the look on Deidara's face and rolling his eyes. "Your stomach just growled; are you hungry or not?"

Nodding rapidly, Deidara moves to walk in step with his partner. Sasori nods in return, turning his gaze back to the road before them. Deidara watches him, wondering just where the generosity had come from.

"You look like a fish—close your mouth already," Sasori says simply, his amazing eyes never once diverting from the path. "And stop staring at me like that"

Deidara scowls under his breath, finally removing his surprised gaze from the redhead. "You're really weird, Sasori-danna, un…"

"Speak for yourself, brat…"

The tea shop was now only a few steps ahead of them, causing Deidara to speed up at the sight of it. Sasori sighs, hurrying to follow after him. Walking into the small building, Deidara glances around before heading to the front counter. Sasori watches him order from a distance, wincing at the level of voice Deidara achieves in his excitement.

Carrying his newly bought dango outside, Deidara moves to sit down only to be pulled along by Sasori. "We don't have time to sit and eat, brat. Just eat it on the way."

Grumbling, the blond gives in a falls into step beside the redhead before taking the first bite of his food. "If we didn't have time to stop and eat," Deidara begins to say after swallowing, "then why did you suggest it?"

"You were hungry; I didn't want you to pass out or something from not eating anything. You're such an idiot sometimes…" Sasori doesn't glance back to Deidara, but the bomber took notice to a slight flush upon his partner's cheeks. Deciding he'd just imagined it, Deidara turns back to his dango to finish eating.

They continue their traveling in silence, Deidara's thoughts wandering from various different things—his latest assignment for class, new clay he'd need to work with, creating better explosive jutsus—but one thought kept creeping back up.

Why was Sasori-danna so _weird_? He was always saying such cruel things to Deidara but not once had he ever really been mean. What was his reasons behind all this? Could he perhaps like the blond?

That was a ridiculous thought however; Deidara and Sasori hated each other. They were artists of different views, they lived in two very different cities on opposite sides of their nation—though really they weren't _that_ far, considering Iwagakure was in the mountainous north and Sunagakure was in the desert south. Really though, the two were complete opposites in all respects.

Not once had they ever had a real conversation with one another. It seemed that neither knew how to be polite to the other, especially when all they could think about was how strange their partner's views were.

Sasori's ideas of eternal beauty were far-fetch and completely absurd; nothing lasted forever in Deidara's eyes. Beauty only lasted for those first few moments before it all wore off; why let it sit there and waste in a past beauty? Deidara didn't believe in beauty that lasted forever, because it never did. It was brief, like a firework exploding in the sky. Destroying that artwork when the beauty pasted was the best thing for art, which was why Deidara exploded his work; they'd be beautiful even as they dissolved, just like a firework.

Yet, when Deidara looked at Sasori's hand crafted puppets—the precise angles and chiseled structures… Sasori's work was a whole other beauty. Sometimes the Akasuna's views on art weren't so crazy when Deidara was watching those puppets work. Sometimes, his views were easy seen by the bomber just when he gazed into Sasori's brown eyes.

Those eyes were the eternal beauty he preached about. Deidara would look into others' eyes and grow bored of them within minutes, but not Sasori's. His eyes were far to alluring to be anything but amazing—the type of art Deidara wouldn't be able to bring himself to destroy in a beautiful fire-cracking explosion.

Of course, despite all this, Deidara still hated the redhead for everything else. At least, he hoped he still hated the other artist…


	5. Chapter 5

Hidan groans, reaching over to his nightstand to shut off his alarm. His fist connects with the clock, but the sound continues reverberating in his room. It took a moment for his clouded mind to realize that his phone was ringing.

Groggy and with little enthusiasm, Hidan sits up and flicks open his phone he'd fished from under his pillow. "What the _fuck_ do you want? It's—" he glances to the clock he'd hit, seeing the time "—five in the morning! And _Saturday_ for Jashin's sake!"

"I understand that I woke you, Sendo; however, I think your clock may have been reset because it is actually one in the afternoon." The calm voice on the other end of the receiver responds, a sigh added at the end. Hidan groans, falling back onto his bed; who was this anyway? "Now, I'm only calling to tell you that you will be meeting Kinsen at the bus station in Otogakure; it's closer to your city, so I don't suppose there should be any trouble for you. Kinsen will brief you on your mission, and you should be able to find him easily seeing as you've taken it upon yourself to already meet him. Be there by three; Kinsen hates to wait."

After the line had gone dead and a few minutes pass, Hidan finally realizes who that was. "Stupid Pein-in-the-ass…" He scowls under his breath, sitting up once again and glaring at the lying clock beside his bed. "Stupid power…" At this mutter, the clock goes blank for a short moment before flicking back on, reset to midnight. Sighing with a small groan, the teenager pulls himself out of bed.

Stumbling out of his small apartment bedroom, Hidan winces at the bright light coming from the wide open windows. His mother sat on the couch, a magazine in hand and a coffee sitting on the table before her. She glances up to see him yawn, rolling her poison-green eyes at the sight. "About time you woke up…"

"Whatever…" He retorts almost silently, glaring at her before moving towards the small bathroom to relieve his bladder.

Hidan had been living in Yugakure his entire life with his mother. He'd never had a father, and his mother never liked to talk about him. Sometimes, Hidan wondered if she was even sure who the man was. The woman was only thirty-two, making her exactly sixteen years older than her own son. Hidan didn't know his grandparents, nor did he know any of his mother's family. Well, except for Uncle Hidato, who took good care of his baby sister and nephew when times were tough for them.

Hidato was the one who got his sister this two bedroom apartment three years ago. It was nicer than living in his uncle's basement, but Hidan tended to miss living there. The apartment was nice, but it was still small.

"Hey Riima, is there anything in the fucking fridge today?" Hidan spat at his mother when he exits the bathroom, hands still slightly damp. She turns a short glare on him before completely ignoring the question and went back to her magazine.

Hidan and his mother only ever got along when Riima hadn't screwed up again. She'd lost her job the other day and Hidan had been giving her the third degree since finding out. Riima herself was only kind to the boy when she wasn't reminded of the fact he'd stolen her glory years from her. When Hidan was a child, Riima hated hearing him call her "mama" or any other variation of it. She was too young to be called such and told Hidan she was "Riima", not "mommy".

He never broke the habit of calling her by her name.

As for his dirty mouth, Riima was not to blame for this. In fact, she hated any form of swearing, even if it was simple things like "Hell". Uncle Hidato, however, swore like a sailor. Hidan learned very young these words, and Riima could do nothing but listen to her child swear.

Of course, despite the bad air between Riima and Hidan, neither had ever raised a fist to the other. Raising their voices, yes, and spanking when Hidan was young. But Riima never harmed her son, and Hidan returned the favor—he wasn't afraid to hit a woman though, so don't think he wouldn't do it because of morals or some shit.

After grabbing something to eat—a cereal bar or whatever—Hidan moves to sit beside his brunette mother on the couch, the springs making her bounce a little. Riima doesn't bat an eye however, continuing to read the articles of her woman's magazine.

Silence stretches over them, Hidan trying to figure a way to ask for money. Bus rides weren't cheap, and he'd need to get to Otogakure before three. Even though the old man didn't scare Hidan, he didn't want to cause a scene in the middle of the station for being late.

Besides, the sooner he was gone, the less time he'd have to listen to his mother complain.

"Hey, Riima…" He starts, swallowing down the last of his breakfast bar. She gives a sigh and glances to him, her green eyes going dark. "Could I have some money?"

Riima stares blankly at him before cocking an eyebrow at the boy. "What for…?" Before he can even answer, she asks, "Are you trying to run away again?"

Shaking his head, Hidan shifts on the couch to better look at her. "I'm not going to run away again, damn!" She raises both brows now. "I just need some money for bus fare to get to Otogakure."

Clicking her tongue, Riima sets the magazine down. "And what, may I ask, is in Otogakure?"

Hidan hesitates, not having thought of that. Riima didn't know about him meeting Pein in Amegakure when he'd ran away a few weeks ago. She also didn't know he'd only come home because of the Akatsuki—he wasn't stupid enough to tell his mother about that. In fact, Riima didn't even know about the ninja world; she was a civilian.

Lucky for Hidan, Uncle Hidato was aware due to something happening in his childhood. Hidan still didn't know and he kind of didn't want to—apparently, it was the reason Hidato didn't have one of his eyes. Of course, despite not knowing, Hidan wanted his uncle to teach him, and Hidan learned chakra control when they'd been living with the man. Riima had no knowledge of this happening.

So, in an attempt to be witty, Hidan grins at his mother. "It's an… anime convention there!" Riima's lip twitches at the mention of anime. "And I wanted to go! Do _you_ want to come?"

Riima hated anime. "No… no, not at all." Really hated anime. "I'd rather stay here and read…" She was too nice about letting Hidan do what he liked though. "Alright then, I'll give you bus fare and some extra in case you want to get something, plus the fare to get home."

Hidan allows his grin to turn to a smirk as she reaches into her purse. Riima wouldn't check if there really was a convention going on there, so his plan was fool proof now.

* * *

Hidan glares at the back of Kakuzu's head, his arms crossed across his chest in defiance.

They had met on time—granted, Hidan was a few minutes late—and the old bastard didn't even say anything to him! He just glared at Hidan before turning and walking away. Hidan wanted to ask what the Hell was wrong with him, but then that meant showing he actually cared Kakuzu wasn't talking to him.

"So…" Hidan starts to say, taking notice that there weren't any civilians around. "Where we going?"

No response, though then again, Hidan hadn't expected any. This old man was starting to get on his nerves; all he did was ask a question!

Not only that, but didn't stupid Pein say that Kakuzu would tell him what they were supposed to be doing here? "Hey, Kakuzu!"

"Amazing; you do know my name…" Kakuzu retorts, his voice soft and obviously not meant to be heard by his teenage companion.

Hidan scowls at this. "Duh, of course I do! I'm not some fucking idiot!" He lets his arms fall to his sides, looking around at their surroundings. "So what are we doing?"

Kakuzu stops and turns, glaring down at the boy. Hidan returns the glare, a small smirk fighting its way across his lips; he really was annoying this guy, wasn't he?

"Can you fight, boy?" Kakuzu asks suddenly, surprising Hidan with the straight forward question.

"Uh…" He raises a brow, unsure if Kakuzu was serious or not. "Duh…?"

"I want _proper_ answers from you, boy." Kakuzu states, his Christmas coloured eyes narrowing with his words.

Hidan blows a raspberry at this, grinning wickedly to his partner. "Is that proper enough for you?"

He barely had time to react—one minute, Kakuzu was five paces ahead of him, the next he was standing before him and choking him against a tree that wasn't behind him before. "I don't have time for you stupid games, boy."

Gagging on the hold, Hidan grips onto Kakuzu's hands in an attempt to stop the strangling. His face began to turn blue a moment later, but a grin was still in place on the teenager's lips. Scowling, Kakuzu releases him and moves to continue down the path.

Standing to catch his breath, Hidan watches Kakuzu go. Gasping on the sudden air, Hidan falls back onto the tree he'd been pinned against, wincing a little. "Jashin… that guy has some problems…"

Groaning, Hidan stands again and glances in the direction Kakuzu had gone. Deciding it'd be better to just follow, the teenager takes off down the lane after his older partner.

He doesn't try again to find out what the mission was when he catches up though. Instead, Hidan busies himself with finding out what part of Otogakure they were in. Perhaps if he figures this out, he can work on finding out the mission on his own.

Then again, he didn't really care. If he couldn't complete the mission, he'd just tell Pein that Kakuzu was being an ass and wouldn't tell him what he was supposed to do.

Something in the air catches his attention then, causing him to become alert. Sniffing again to see if he wasn't mistaken, Hidan frowns when he realizes he was smelling exactly that—blood. Hurrying ahead, he comes to Kakuzu's side and notices that the man hadn't seem to recognize the scent.

"Kakuzu…" He starts, keeping his voice level and as quiet as he could. A grunt was his answer; obviously, he wouldn't take Hidan seriously, but something about the way Hidan had spoken had made the man curious. "I smell blood up ahead…"

At this, Kakuzu pauses, making Hidan stop as well. Looking up to his companion, Hidan stares the miser in the eye, trying to keep his appearance serious so Kakuzu would understand. Kakuzu glares in return, glancing up the path towards a strangely placed cottage. "How much exactly?"

Hidan hoped to Jashin that Kakuzu wasn't just humoring him. "A lot; maybe enough for an entire person."

Humming, Kakuzu moves forward again. "We'll be finding out then, won't we?"

Staring at Kakuzu for a moment, Hidan follows after once again. "Is that where we've been headed then?"

Kakuzu nods, concealing his chakra then; Hidan does the same before cringing at the smell. It was worse as they got closer. "Prepare yourself…"

Nodding in return, Hidan pulls at the chain hanging from his pants carefully, making sure not to let the metal clink too loudly. At the other end that was concealed within his deep pockets, a tiny charm of a three bladed red scythe hung. Unhooking it smoothly, Hidan flung the weapon easily in his hand before it suddenly enlarged in a cloud of smoke.

Resting the weapon against his shoulder, Hidan glances to Kakuzu for a signal to move in. Kakuzu takes a moment to look at the scythe before nodding at the door. "Kill any with chakra, Hidan."

"Got it…" Hidan mutters, fingering the pendant around his neck; he should have prayed before hand. Still, how was he to know they'd actually be killing these heathens? "Yours for the taking, Jashin-sama…" He whispers very quietly, removing his hand from the rosary before charging at the door with Kakuzu at his side.


	6. Chapter 6

The sense of chakra was directly ahead of Hidan when he came in, so with a smooth and quick swipe of his scythe, the boy was able to make contact with the first victim. Grinning at the sound of flesh ripping and the scent of fresh blood coating his blade, Hidan moves onward to collect a bit more for the ritual to take out more than one.

Kakuzu wastes no time in taking out these ninjas, barely having to put up too much of a fight and simply choking the majority of them. Glancing to his partner, Kakuzu watches Hidan cut at the men, getting more and more blood on that strange scythe of his—but he wasn't killing them…

"Damn it…" The miser scowls, releasing one of the limp bodies in his hold before turning help this idiot. Hidan couldn't just take his time, the killing needed to be quick!

However, when he turned back to the teenager, the boy had stabbed his hand and drawn the image of his rosary beneath him in a matter of seconds. Confusion fills the air about the men who were hit by the Jashinist's scythe, watching to see what the boy would do in general curiosity.

Kakuzu stood to the side, his jaw clenching from general anger and confusion towards the teenager. Hidan stood upon his blood drawn rosary in the floor, a smirk growing on his lips before licking at the blood coated scythe.

The air shifted, breathing seeming harder in the thick tension growing about them. Kakuzu narrows his eyes, watching the boy in wonder when his skin began to change colour.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but as the seconds ticked on, it became apparent that Hidan's pale skin grew darker in places, shifting around white shapes that appeared to be bones. Kakuzu's brows furrow in surprise, feeling the men shift in shock around the boy, all unsure of what they should do now that his skin had the general appearance of a skeleton.

He moves slowly, reaching into his unzipped jacket casually as the smirk remains in place upon his lips. Hidan removes his hand then, within his grasp a short black object that he flicks out to grow into a spear. Tension about the room remains thick, the other men watching with baited breath.

Hidan decides to take not a second longer and takes a jab at _himself_, piercing his hand again with the retractable spear as though testing something. Kakuzu tisks at this, shaking his head at the idiot he'd been partnered with. However, his disdain for the teenager disappears as soon as their opponents who'd been struck by the teen yell out in shock. Kakuzu looks to them in confusion, finding that all of their hands were bleeding like Hidan's.

Something clicks inside Kakuzu's mind then, and he realizes just what the boy was doing then. Taking that moment to find those that weren't bleeding at the hand, Kakuzu moves swiftly in the confusion to finish the rest of them off.

Watching for a moment as Kakuzu kills the rest, Hidan removes his spear from his hand and lets his smirk grow into a toothy, sinister grin. He felt the pain shooting through every one of the other men, letting it fill his own body with gusto. Raising the spear again, he catches the fear in the other men through their eyes, snickering aloud at them before bringing the weapon down through his chest—penetrating his heart in the process.

It all happened quickly; their heart beats accelerated in fear and a desire to continue going, frantically loosing more of blood than it should in the process from the newly formed holes in their chests. Eventually, the pumping ceased along with any form of breathing, their lungs shriveling up from lack of air being able to reach them. Hidan felt his own breath catch in his throat with theirs, the general thrill of living through this filling him to the core.

The men dropped one by one, Hidan gasping for breath again when the death passed over him and the emptiness in his mind filled once again with life, realizing he hadn't actually died like _they_ had.

Kakuzu was in front of him when his thoughts finally caught up with him, his glazed over expression finally catching the older man's. "How are you still alive?"

Hidan's mind took a moment to peace these words together to make sense, the feeling of dieing still taking a moment to leave him completely. "… I can't…" He chokes, gulping down more air to breath properly. "I can't die…"

Scoffing, Kakuzu sneers at him. "How is that possible?"

Chuckling at the man's leer, Hidan grins again. "Jashin-sama…" Taking in a shuddering breath, the teenager reaches up to take the retractable spear from his chest, grunting from it's removal. "He graced me with the gift of immortality."

Christmas coloured eyes roll in annoyance. "Whatever…" He grunts out, turning away and heading to the door they'd barged in from. "They're all dead and none were hostages—at least, none that were still alive."

Hidan glances about the building they'd come into, finding that the place was covered in blood and bodies lined the floor; only a few were fresh from their own killing, the rest looking days old and others only a few hours.

Gulping some blood down he hadn't realized had collected in his throat, Hidan looks down to his fist. The pale colouring of his skin had finally shifted back from his other colouring. Sighing, the masochist glances to the door again, seeing his partner outside and waiting for him. With one more scan of the building, Hidan picks up his scythe to shrink it back down to the charm form, leaving the room to follow the miser as he hooked it back onto his chain.

* * *

The hole in his chest was still bleeding despite the bit of cloth he'd messily tied around his torso. Hidan's hands were also starting to throb beneath the other bit of cloth he'd knotted around them, though he didn't really have anything else to do with them at the moment.

Being that they were back on the main road, Kakuzu had forced Hidan to zip up his hoody to hide the bandaging around his heart. It was better to not be noticed by civilians, though they barely met any on this path within the forest despite being closer to the city than before. None of them that were within walking distance spared the pair a glance anyway, though Hidan assumed they would if his wounds were exposed.

Kakuzu doesn't say anything to him again, and Hidan can't find a reason to care. He himself doesn't want to talk anyway, considering the hole in his chest. Briefly, Hidan wonders how he'll get that fixed before returning home—Riima didn't need to discover his heart was more or less exposed now.

Hidan nearly runs into Kakuzu then, the older man having stopped a few paces ahead of him without Hidan noticing. He's looking at his watch before he turns to Hidan, eyes giving him a once over as though reevaluating the younger male.

"Do you live with anyone?" Kakuzu asks then, surprising Hidan at the suddenness of the question.

"Yeah, my mom... Why the fuck—"

"Will she care if you don't return tonight?" Kakuzu continues on, glaring now.

Hidan shrugs, "probably, but she might fucking think I've run away again or some shit if I don't call her."

Kakuzu gives a heavy sigh, looking to Hidan with a look of annoyance. "Call her and make something up then—we need to do something about your wounds."

He turns forward again, beginning to walk away from the teen. Hidan glares at his retreating back, scoffing under his breath as he pulls out his phone and looks his mother up in the contacts listing. Upon pressing the call button, Hidan moves to catch up with Kakuzu, the call connecting ringing in his ear.

"_Hello?_" Riima answers then, her voice annoyed. Hidan assumes he must have called during one of her soaps.

"Hey, Riima, I might stay at this convention one more night," He lies easily, Kakuzu glancing back at him.

Riima gives a grunt, humming on the other ends before asking, "_Hold up, how are you going to afford a hotel room? I know I didn't give you that much, kiddo._"

Hidan racks his brain for an idea. "I... ran into someone I know from school and they offered me a place to sleep."

"_Whatever, you little liar. Just be home sometime tomorrow; and I swear to your little God, Hidan, you _are_ going to school on Monday!_" Riima answers, hanging up before he can yell at her about Jashin or even the prospect of going to school.

Glaring at the device, Hidan pockets the phone and follows Kakuzu into a motel he'd found as Hidan talked with his mother. Waiting closer to the entrance, Hidan looks about himself at the rundown building with a sneer, listening to his partner ask for a room with two beds. Hearing the exchange end, he turns back and follows the older man down the left hall to their room.

"Hey, Kakuzu, how exactly are you planning on fixing my damn wounds anyway?" Hidan asks, watching Kakuzu unlock the door to their—surprise, surprise—shitty little room.

Kakuzu doesn't answer at first, simply pulling Hidan into the room and locking the door behind them. Tossing the younger male onto to the nearest bed, Kakuzu nods towards his chest. "Remove the jacket and bandages." He tosses off his own blazer, rolling up his right sleeve to the first line of stitches.

Hidan gets an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, but slowly unzips the jacket anyway. "Yo, man, I still don't know what you're—" He pauses, watching the threads snake their way from Kakuzu's split limb. Hidan stares at them, feeling nauseous at the thought of what those threads were going to do. "This is going to hurt like a bitch, isn't?"

* * *

"I really fucking hate you..." Hidan murmurs, lying on his back while scratching at the stitching in his chest. He quickly switches to rubbing his hands together, the stitching enough to scratch each palm at once.

Kakuzu slaps his hands away from one another, moving to tie the same cloth used before around them. "You shouldn't scratch them..."

Hidan huffs, glaring at him. "Why do you even care, huh?"

"About you? I don't—what I do care about, is no one finding out about the members of this organization. You bleeding all over the place, and in front of your own mother even, isn't going to help." Kakuzu moves away towards the other bed, laying down above the covers with his back to Hidan.

Hidan eyes the older man's back, tracing down the curvature of his form and feeling himself flush at the thought. Without the blazer, Kakuzu's body was a bit easier to see, and the muscles in his back were... a little distracting.

For an old man, Kakuzu was pretty fucking hot. Hidan huffs at this, glaring at the ceiling. He also couldn't believe Hidan was able to live after the blow he dealt to _himself_, and clearly Kakuzu wanted to kill him. But he also fixed up his wounds... and he wasn't really trying to kill him now it seemed.

Maybe he figured Hidan did well enough on the mission? They had taken out half the men each. Hidan figures he's proved his worth.

With a groggy glance to Kakuzu's muscular back, Hidan sighs and lets himself fall towards sleep. Before he falls completely under however, something under the thin blue dress shirt Kakuzu wore moves a bit, yet his heavy brain chalks it up to Hidan being tired from using his ritual earlier that day.


End file.
